"Do not, I beg you, be troubled by forces already dissolved. You have mistaken the hour of the night. It is already morning." (Hilaire Belloc)

Sunday, December 29, 2013

THESE FRANCISCANS NEED TO BE CORRECTED

It is necessary for the good of souls and the good of the Church that religious orders be true to their founding charisms, the primary one being to "teach all nations" as Jesus Christ commanded of his followers. When they deviate from this clear path it is necessary for Rome to step in to make the necessary corrections. We know that right now the Franciscans and their correction are very much on the minds of those in Rome so I offer as a case in point, the Franciscans of......

.....Milwaukee.

We note from the parish bulletin of St Francis of Assisi Parish in Milwaukee that the Franciscans who administer the parish had on the 28th of December a celebration of something called "Kwaanza" (or "Kwanzaa" or "Kwaanzaa" or however the idiotic thing is spelled). I was under the apparently mistaken impression that December 28th was the Third Day of Christmas and that it should have been honored as such. We leap to the conclusion that these Franciscans find it more compelling to honor some ridiculous created-out-of-thin-air "festival" than to continue the honoring of the Divine Infancy.

I am at a loss to understand how participating in such nonsense will help parishioners better understand and live the Catholic Faith. I am reasonably certain that if I inquired I would hear a whole litany of maudlin excuses and vomitous claptrap from the parish about the needs of responding to local cultures, etc., etc., etc. One can hope that the pastor of the Church has a good heart at least; but it is evident that he is sorely lacking in a proper formation. He cannot be totally blamed for failing to pass along something he was never taught.

Reading this parish bulletin is not for the faint of heart, for in addition to the above silliness we note that the parish offers a Gospel Music Workshop. Good Lord, can you imagine what that's like? I shudder to think of how awful their regular Masses must be. So what is in fact happening is that instead of teaching local pagans the truths of the Faith the Faithful at St Francis parish are absorbing the culture and beliefs of the local pagans. This is always the inevitable result of "inculturation" anyway, whether it happens in Bombay or Milwaukee.

Thus far the Franciscans in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee under Jerome Listecki go on their merry way with their foot-stomping, hallelujah-shouting, fried chicken-chomping celebrations of a "holiday" the likes of which having somehow escaped the notice of historians for seven millenia. Along this happy hand-clapping way the message of Christ, not to mention that of St. Francis of Assisi, has somehow been lost in the fog. Strangely, as of now, Rome has not swooped down on them like a vulture as they are wont to do with other Franciscans.

Perhaps the Vatican, so concerned by Franciscans just now, could explain.

Unless a great many people have been misinformed it is the common understanding that a small group of Franciscans who were unhappy about something (the exact details of which we have yet to learn) began the whole affair which led to the intervention. The term I used, "swoop", is more a reflection of what has happened to that particular Order since the Intervention began.

If even one-half of the reports about what has been done to that Order by Father Volpi are true then anyone who likes to make comparisons will wonder why the iron fist of severity is being applied to an Order which ostensibly has been doing precisely the kind of thing that the Church has always done for centuries and why the Milwaukee Franciscans can insult Our Lord (and our intelligence) by despoiling the Christmas holy time with such stupidities as Kwaanzaa and not feel the wrath of Rome.

In any case I thank you for writing and welcome any light that can be shed on a situation which looks outwardly to be so tragic.

Actually. december 28th is the Feast of the Innocents, remembering the children killed by king Herode.I know kwanzaa is an "African" feast. Are there so many Africans in that parish in Milwaukee so that to "inculture" Christmas Catholic tradition ?i mean A fricans, not black Americans, which for centuries have been taught C hristianity.rosa, milan

Only 5 of the FFI asked for intervention and the hammer came down hard. NO heresy, crime, or schism has been shown. But the 'traditional leaning' is not to be tolerated: you know, promoting Our Lady, teaching true Catholic teachings, etc.

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States. It was created by Ronald McKinley Everett, and was first celebrated in 1966–67.

Mr. Everett was a founding member of the black nationalist US Organization, which was involved in violent power struggles with the Black Panthers, many involving shootings reminiscent of today's gangsta warfare.

Mr. Everett changed his name to Maulana Karenga at some point, and has a criminal record. He was sentenced to 1-10 years in prison for assault and false imprisonment. His crimes included stripping a woman naked and beating her with an electrical cord and karate baton, and sitting on another woman's stomach while water was poured into her mouth by a hose. Testimony at the trial included torture by soldering iron, vice, and small appliance.

It is unclear which of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Mr. Everett was enacting during his torture session.

The parish in question apparently did not celebrate a mass on the 28th, not even the Sunday Vigil mass. On the other hand, it did celebrate a Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Our Lady, but not a mass on her feast day. Perhaps they give a partial indulgence for watching football and nursing a hangover in that parish.

Mr. Villarubia (or Vilarrubia or Villarrubia, however the idiotic thing is spelled)once again we are shown jut how "Christian" you are with yet another display of intolerance. Perfection is such a burden, is it not?